U.S. Rep McCaul to have new foreign affairs job in Congress

December 5, 2018

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents Katy in Washington, D.C., will return to Capitol Hill with a different position than the one he held before the elections.

McCaul was selected by the House Republican Conference to serve as the senior member of the GOP on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 116th Congress. In a statement released by his office, McCaul said he was honored to be selected and saluted the outgoing chairman, U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R- Calif.) who will retire from Congress.

“I’d also like to recognize my fellow candidates, Congressman Joe Wilson and Ted Yoho, for all of their hard work on behalf of the American public,” McCaul said in a statement.

McCaul was previously Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Although he won reelection in the last election, enough Democrats were victorious to shift the balance of power from the Republicans in the House of Representatives. However, McCaul wouldn’t have returned to the Homeland Security leadership in any case before of a GOP term limit rule.

With the Democrats in power, McCaul will be leading Republican on the Foreign Affairs committee – known as the “Ranking Member.”

“It will be my mission to partner with (Secretary of State Michael Pompeo) and my colleagues to advance a foreign policy that promotes American leadership on the world stage,” McCaul said on his official Twitter page.

U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, D-New York, will be chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. McCaul said he will be working alongside Engel in his new role as Ranking Member.

“This is a humbling opportunity and I look forward to hitting the ground running on day one,” McCaul said.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, will be the next senior Republican on McCaul’s former Homeland Security Committee.